Learn An Hour Of Code From The Women of Star Wars

Want to learn to code from Princess Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 as well as Rey and BB-8 ? Code.org has you covered! The nonprofit, dedicated to expanding access to computer science and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color, has unveiled its third-annual Hour of Code campaign, and it’s out of this world!

Thanks to a partnership with Lucasfilm, the online tutorial will teach students to write code that allows them to create fun challenges and games using the Star Wars characters.

“For generations, Star Wars has sparked kids’ curiosity and imagination, and we hope the appeal of characters like Princess Leia and Rey will help fuel greater participation in science and math, especially among girls, around the world,” said Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm in a company press release.

In addition to the lesson, role models and technologists, including Kathleen Kennedy, Rachel Rose, a Senior R&D engineer working on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Charita Carter, Senior Creative Producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, have provided short video lectures to help students through the one-hour activity. That’s some serious star power!

The final version of the tutorial, which will be translated into more than 40 languages, will be available on December 7th. There are two versions of the tutorial: one introduces users to JavaScript, and lets them create a game in their Internet browser. For beginner and younger students, a tablet-friendly drag-and-drop version will be available in the next few weeks.

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